Cody Balderamos
Professor Young
English 1100
11/6/2014
Is Beauty Honest?
Although
it has been said many times that, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, the
question remains, “From where does the beholder get his or her ideal of
beauty”? I’m sure the answer to that
question has been debated for generations with the basis being the cultural and
societal influences of the times.
However, the construction of beauty has never been more apparent than
the present day with the addition of the internet and the easy access to
‘beauty’ at our fingertips. In an exceptionally
honest presentation called “Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model.”, fashion model and
TED speaker, Cameron Russell shows multiple pictures of her at work, made up
and photographed, and also in her normal life, casually enjoying the company of
her friends and family. Her statement,
“image is very powerful but also, image is superficial” leads me to the
question, Is beauty honest? In order to
come to an answer, I need to consider whether or not beauty is an idea, forced
fed to us through the media and from our upbringing or, is it a tangible thing
that can be obtained.
The
actual definition of beauty is, “a combination of qualities, such as shape,
color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight”. Based on that definition, it’s safe to assume
that beauty is determined primarily from a visual perspective, but what happens
if we take away the visual aspect, for instance, from the perspective of a
visually impaired person. How then would
one determine beauty without the aid of sight?
As with the loss of any of our senses, our dependence on the remaining
senses would become enhanced. The
stories that were read to us as children were filled with textual images of
beautiful princesses and handsome princes.
We knew, without seeing them, that women were soft spoken, modest, had
long flowing hair, white skin and were generally envied for their beauty by
someone evil, who, by the way, was described as ugly and cruel. Men were strong, well bred, extremely
handsome and chivalrous. These vivid
descriptions of the characters were the beginning of the construction of beauty
in our impressionable minds and that was without the need for actual visuals.
If
we add in the visuals, our portrait of beauty is even clearer. Take, for example, the covers of
magazines. What we see are flawless,
perfectly proportioned, ideal examples of femininity and beauty. Although the characters are vastly different
than those in the stories, the message is the same. This is what beauty is, whether you like it
or not. Flip through the pages and every
photographed model conveys that very message.
What we aren’t told is that these images are almost always retouched in
some way. Cameron Russel, the fashion model
and TED speaker, clearly states that the pictures she showed during her
presentation were constructions by a group of professionals, makeup artists,
photographers and stylists, brought together to build the images we see in the
magazines. In some instances, there was
no clear evidence that the person in the photographs was in fact, Cameron Russell. She became almost unrecognizable due to the
manipulation and retouching of the photos. I read an article recently that
quoted a famous actress who said that she had showed up to many photo shoots
with no makeup and in her street clothes because she knew they could photoshop
the makeup and outfit in post production.
Imagine, perfectly defined cheekbones, flawless skin without any
blemishes or marks, barbie-like arms and legs, all the result of great lighting
and make-up. That’s a scary thought when you think of the millions of little
girls looking at these images and dreaming of obtaining that unrealistic,
computer generated, level of beauty one day.
In
addition to the societal aspect of this debate, there are the cultural
influences that need to be considered.
Much like the subtle brainwashing of our early childhood, our upbringing
or cultural traditions, and our exposure to other cultures and their
traditions, play a significant role in determining what we consider to be
beautiful or not beautiful. For
instance, growing up in a culturally diverse neighborhood would undoubtedly
contribute greatly to one’s range of appreciation as it relates to physical
beauty versus someone who may not have been exposed to cultures other than
their own throughout childhood.
Additionally, there are religious restrictions or beliefs in some cultures
that dictate how a woman should dress and who they should marry. I suppose this
could change the face of physical beauty in certain communities, but most
certainly, it would eliminate much of the societal influences.
All
things considered, it would be safe to assume that the idea of physical beauty
is collectively constructed over time.
As we evolve as a society, the racial boundaries are quickly vanishing,
and inter-racial or multi-cultural relationships have become more acceptable
and, in fact, are quite common. The
cultural restrictions are becoming less of a factor, therefore, enabling us to
broaden our horizons as it relates to who or what we consider to be beautiful. So,
if there are no societal limitations or restrictions for some of us to
consider, where does one get their individuality, their confidence, their idea
of beauty? It could be argued that we
are predisposed to certain likes and dislikes from birth but it is probably
more likely that some of us are born with the ability to see beyond what we are
told to be true and decide for ourselves what our individual idea of beauty is.
So, is beauty honest?
In my opinion, the idea of beauty is not. The constructed idea of beauty is
unattainable. We will never look like
the supermodels in the magazines because they don’t look like their own images
in real life.
